With 4 Clubs, Petra Is An All-around Pro

January 16, 1986|By Dave Heeren, West Sports Editor

Craig Petra wears four hats, and sometimes it seems to him as if he is wearing them all out.

The 30-year-old tennis professional is always on the move between the four clubs he serves as head teaching pro. He drives an average of 100 miles per day between CypressHead in Parkland, Oriole in Margate, Bocaire in Boca Raton and Tierra Delray in Delray Beach.

At least once every week he spends time teaching at all four. In those days he will spend 8 to 10 a.m. at CypressHead, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Bocaire, 4 to 6 p.m. at Tierra Delray and 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Oriole.

``It`s a tiring schedule,`` Petra said. ``The only reason I can do it is that the clubs are all young and growing. When they are full-grown, I`ll have a choice to make.``

That choice will come down to CypressHead and Bocaire. ``Both of these are estate developments with tremendous potential.``

In the meantime, he says he can stand the extra work. If he is overworked, it isn`t the first time and it probably won`t be the last.

He began school at age 4 and started college at 16 after deciding against becoming a professional baseball player. It was a decision that has given him second thoughts.

``I hit over .400 in high school. I think I could have made it. But when you play a specialized position like third base, there is always a chance you will be stuck for 15 years behind a Brooks Robinson.``

As a 19-year-old senior at the University of Iowa, Petra applied to the United States Professional Tennis Association for a tennis teaching license. He was granted the license in May, just before the NCAA Tennis Championships.

``(The Big Ten Conference) didn`t know what to do and they never clearly resolved the situation,`` Petra recalled. ``I was the youngest person ever to earn a USPTA license and they decided I was ineligible for the NCAA tournament even though I hadn`t received any money yet.``

This was a major disappointment to Petra, who was an All-Big Ten selection that year, but the disappointment wore off quickly as he became successful as a teaching pro.

For a year after graduation from Iowa, he taught at an indoor tennis bubble in Minneapolis.

In 1977 he became vice president of Washington, D.C., Tennis Services, the largest tennis managing firm in the United States.

From 1977 to 1980, he was part-owner with Harold Solomon and other well-known pros of the Washington Tennis Center.

In 1981 he came to Florida in an administrative capacity for Florida Tennis Search, a consulting firm that supplies teaching pros to tennis clubs.

He left this post in 1983 to accept the challenge of serving as head pro at the four South Florida clubs.

``We are developing strong programs at all four clubs,`` Petra said. ``We already have two women`s doubles teams representing CypressHead in the Iola McCoy League. We have developing junior programs, with a lot of kids already playing in Florida Tennis Association tournaments. We are planning to have a junior summer camp.``

Petra does have associates at three of the four clubs - Connie Boecklen at CypressHead, Don Deluccia at Tierra Delray and Gordy Powell at Bocaire. But he does a lot of the work himself.

``I teach and administer at all four clubs and run tournaments,`` he said.

At age 30, he figures he has another decade ahead of him as a teaching tennis pro. ``The peak teaching years are 30 to 40. At 40, most pros find that their intensity and productivity start to fall off. They either go into management or another business.``

With this in mind, Petra is working toward obtaining a stock broker`s license and is giving long-range thought to joining his father in the furrier business in Waterloo, Iowa.

With his work ethic, he just might try both - and keep on as a tennis pro, too.